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Four lost their jobs in 2009's recession; Pioneer Press checks in with them

By Rachael Krause and Katie WielgosPioneer Press

Posted:
12/23/2012 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated:
12/24/2012 10:59:59 AM CST

Terri Pieper currently works at the Office of Traffic Safety in downtown St. Paul. Pieper lost her job in 2009. She used the resources of the West St. Paul Work Force Center to help her get back into the workplace. (Pioneer Press: Chris Cooper)

It was the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Four years ago, millions found themselves jobless. Families were turning to charities to put food on the table. Others were losing their homes to foreclosure.

In Minnesota, the newly unemployed turned to the 50 WorkForce Centers throughout the state. They got help building resumes, learned how to network and connect through social media, and used computers to search for jobs.

In May 2009, the West St. Paul WorkForce Center alone had a 25 percent increase in logged computer visits. That May, the Pioneer Press spoke to four newly unemployed Minnesotans.

Terri Pieper had lost her job when the company she worked for folded.

Yvonne "Bonnie" Waldoch was 18 months shy of retirement when she lost hers.

Tammy Holmes worked for St. John's Lutheran Church in St. Paul before it downsized.

Ernest Tarbox was laid off as a nursing assistant at the Augustana Health Care Center of Hastings.

Whatever happened to them?

TERRI PIEPER

For 14 years, Terri Pieper trained information-technology professionals to install and maintain phones. When the company closed, Pieper was lost.

"It was absolutely horrible. I would open up the paper in the morning and read about how more and more people were being laid off," she said.

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"I would sit there, and all I could think about was how these people were my competition."

For months, she searched.

Pieper struggled to stay positive, motivated and active. Her trips to the workforce centers in West St. Paul and Eagan became bright spots in her week.

"I needed to get out of the house," she said.

There Pieper would talk with others going through the same thing. They shared frustrations and tips.

Pieper heard about a temporary opening at the West St. Paul center. At first she was hesitant to take a job only to be back on the hunt in a few months, but staff kept encouraging her.

"I only applied for the job so I could finally get the staff off my back," she said.

Pieper got the job and worked there a few months. But it helped her snag a permanent position at the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Now an office assistant in the traffic safety division, Pieper said she's grateful to be off the job market.

"I'm so thankful to not have to fill out any more job applications," she said.

YVONNE 'BONNIE' WALDOCH

Eighteen months away from retirement, Yvonne "Bonnie" Waldoch lost her job at a Bloomington technology company.

All her plans were ruined.

She had spent years supervising the clean-room production of technology no bigger than a grain of sand. At age 64, she found herself starting over, looking for work.

Waldoch's skills likely qualified her for jobs ranging from the medical field to the food and beverage industry, where she got her start. But despite her experience, Waldoch didn't land a single interview.

Her sister, Dee Thew, said Waldoch had her whole future planned and her retirement townhouse bought. When it all bottomed out, it hit her hard, Thew said.

"She was so talented," Thew said. "It was devastating for her."

Waldoch killed herself July 7, 2009. She was 64.

Waldoch, who lived in Oakdale, had struggled with depression for a long time. Losing her job was the last straw, Thew said.

Dr. Paula Clayton, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's medical director, said the relationship among suicide, unemployment and economic recession is incredibly high, particularly for Americans ages 45 to 64. Many people who kill themselves have a mental disorder, such as depression, Clayton added.

"If you're even a little depressed and something like this happens, it hits you hard," Clayton said. "It can be very difficult to recover from."

Nationally, the suicide rate has been rising since 2000, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the U.S.

The Great Recession took a toll on Thew's family. Her husband lost his job about the same time Thew lost her sister. Thew said it felt like a slap in the face.

TAMMY HOLMES

You can't give up, says Tammy Holmes.

The Eagan woman was downsized out of a job in 2009 by St. John's Lutheran Church in St. Paul.

For months, she found no job. She took several assignments with temp agencies but none that became permanent.

Holmes insisted on staying positive.

"If you dwell on the negative, you won't succeed," she said.

The WorkForce Center helped her.

Along with job searches, Holmes took advice from professionals. Simply submitting a resume with your job history doesn't work anymore, she learned. Often, those resumes are scanned into a computer program that pulls out key words to match an opening. The resume must have those key words or it probably won't be looked at.

There also were regular networking sessions, which she found helpful.

"It was a way to interact with people and get your name out there," Holmes said. It was at such a gathering that she met a supervisor from the Macy's store in Maplewood. She has been a full-time sales specialist there since April.

"I'm very happy with my position," Holmes said. "I feel confident with myself because I have been working."

ERNEST TARBOX

Ernest Tarbox submitted 150 to 200 job applications.

The Inver Grove Heights man was laid off in February 2009 after two years as a nursing assistant at the Augustana Health Care Center of Hastings. His search for a new permanent job dragged on more than three years.

Then, last summer, he got a call from Southview Acres Health Care Center in West St. Paul. He had put in an application a year ago. The center asked him to reapply.

"People who are still looking need to keep their nose to the grindstone," said Tarbox, who has been a nursing assistant at Southview Acres since July. "Eventually, they'll find what they're looking for or at least something to get them on the right track."

Tarbox said things are much better than they were three years ago, and he feels like his new job is a good fit.

"I have pretty much found a place that accepted me with all my experience and background," he said. "It makes me feel good that they took a chance on me."

Although the West St. Paul center didn't offer any networking sessions specifically for people in health care, the sessions he attended "helped a little." They kept him motivated, Tarbox said.

He is happy in his new job, in part because he remembers his struggle.

"I felt like I needed to keep plugging away," he said. His diligence paid off.

-- If you, or anyone you know, are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, seek help or call the National Suicide Helpline at 1-800-273-8255. The helpline is anonymous, and counselors take calls 24 hours a day.

-- Minnesota's WorkForce centers are available to anyone whether you want help building your resume, want to use the center's free computers or are looking to attend job-hunting classes. To find the center nearest you, go to positivelyminnesota.com/jobseekers or call 1-888-438-5627.